The Songwriting Process – Ryan Axtell

An article by Brent Chavez    No Comments

Here’s Part II of our Songwriting Process Series. You got to hear from Brian on Tuesday about how he puts a song together, and now it’s Ryan’s turn. Ryan has given some great insights and put together an excellent post on the topic, so without further ado, here’s what Ryan Axtell has to say about the Songwriting Process.

“Almost without exception, every great songwriter whom I know personally or that I’ve heard of or read about, uses a specific technique: Some free-associate on legal pads for hours and then pare lists of cross-referenced words or phrases down to related components that can by used in lyric lines.

“Many write draft after draft – as many as twenty- of a whole lyric in composition notebooks, lining out their less fortunate efforts as they go. Some sit at a piano or hold a guitar and ‘chain-of-consciousness-sing’ any old thing that comes into their heads at the outset – getting a ‘sound’ first and working out the intricacies of meaning later.

“Another well-known writer stands in front of huge speakers and ‘word-jams’ to tracks that are already finished.

“Some write lyrics, some only music. Some write both and among these, many write the words first. Others write a catchy tune and add words that fit. Many move the lyrics and melody along simultaneously in careful steps.

“All these techniques are valid. It is almost a certainty that before a writer achieves full-fledged professional status, they will have developed a unique method of working their tail off.”

-  Jimmy Webb “Tunesmith”

I have always been amazed by songwriting; the process of musically communicating and sharing stories, emotions, and experiences in a way that causes the listener to respond. The best song is one that makes us feel something. A Dream Theater song causes me to revel in their machined technicality and skill, while a Ray LaMontagne or Joe Pugg song causes me to stop and contemplate. Some songs make you wanna dance and move, others stir up tears. Whether you like them or not, they are effectively invoking a response from the listener. This is my goal as a songwriter: to share a moment with someone.  In order to do this, you have to write good songs. As Jimmy Webb stated above, there are many techniques and processes when it comes to writing songs. I am by no means an expert on all forms of songwriting, but I will share my own journey and process.

Growing up playing in garage bands, we would usually jam around a couple cool ideas until we had something we liked. We then incorporated lyrics and melody in and around what the band had created. The lyrical phrasing, spacing, and melody for the most part were determined by what the band had already created (this was the songwriting process of Jethro Tull).  We created some great songs with this method, but oftentimes found ourselves forcing a melody to fit the accompaniment instead of the other way around. In this era of my songwriting, the goal was to play loud, fast, and technical, so we wrote the music first and then retrofitted the melody and lyrics.

Soon I began writing songs on my own, instead of with a band, and adopted a new process of writing. At this point I began singing in addition to playing guitar, thus caring more about melody and lyrics (which, in popular opinion, are the most important elements of a song). I would write melody, lyrics, and accompaniment all together. Usually I had a small hook, lyric line, or musical idea that would cause me to grab my guitar and notepad. Then it was a process of trial and error (fitting vocal phrases to chord progressions, experimenting with meter and tempo, etc) until I had a finished song. This process worked for me because I was writing all the elements, but it’s definitely a different animal because everything develops as you go. You may start off going in one musical direction, then upon completion find yourself in a totally different place than you intended. It’s like building a car body, interior, drive train, and chassis all at the same time. It’s a very organic process that allows for each individual element to change the course of the outcome. I found that this process worked well when I was songwriting without a real end goal in mind (ex: “I want to write a song” vs. “I want to write a sad ballad”).

At this point in time I began to daily practice songwriting. Sometimes it was lyrics first. Sometimes melody first. Sometimes I would take sentences from books and put them to music. I removed myself from my comfortable process and challenged my ability to write, adapt, retrofit, retool, and accompany. Songwriting is incredibly hard, time consuming, and doesn’t happen overnight…Yeah, it’s pretty much like any other job or skill. I read books on songwriting, counterpoint, music theory, and accompaniment.  I paid attention to my favorite songs and tried to comprehend why they had such an affect on me while others didn’t. I would write lyrics during class, even notate random melodic lines.

Though I practiced songwriting regularly, I struggled writing corporate worship songs because I felt I was forcing the process. It just didn’t feel natural. I found myself proof texting scripture to find good ideas to write about while at the same time feeling like I was adding to the noise. Why say something if someone else has already said it better?  My lyrics weren’t convincing. They felt artificial. It was just easier to write songs when all I really wanted to do was write cool melodies and grooves without a specific purpose.

Most corporate worship songs are simple in structure, repetitive, and often have a small melodic range.  This doesn’t make them lame songs. This is because corporate worship songs have a specific purpose: they are written so the average person can sing them (similar to pop songs).  They are engineered to imprint in our mind so that during the week we find ourselves singing them and thinking through the lyrics and content. Take a look at songs like How He Loves, How Great is Our God, and Your Grace is Enough. They all utilize popular western song structure, simple chord progressions, 4/4 time, and catchy melodies. On paper they may not look very impressive, but all three songs cause a tremendous response when sung in a group. They contain a very clear, convicting message. They are inspired and written in such a way that the majority of the church can not only listen to them but also sing along. They are so exposed and vulnerable: its clear to the listener if the songsmith is inspired or not.  I really believe corporate worship songs are some of the hardest to write.

Inspiration. Inspiration is the spark that can start a fire. Your songwriting method is the process you use to fuel, fan, and grow the fire into something contagious. You can have the most amazing process, but with out inspiration, the flame feels like those fireplace videos you can play on your TV if your house doesn’t have a real fireplace.  It may look real, but its not. An inspired song feels like you’re on a bear rug in front of a huge hearth in Hurst Castle.  At this point in my life I had a handle on the process but still lacked inspiration when it came to crafting songs for the corporate worship setting.

In 2009 my wife and I found out we were going to lose our daughter to a disorder called Hydrops. We ended up having a stillbirth on August 26th after 26 weeks of pregnancy. This was an incredibly hard time for my wife and I and it caused me to really dive into scripture and challenge my idea of faith. I read, prayed, and wrote on a daily basis…not because I had to but because I needed to.  It was incredibly humbling and terrifying and painful: to open myself to the unknown and release control of a situation.

During those 6 months inspiration overwhelmed me. As I sought after God, He answered. I wrote lyrics and poems almost every night- not to turn into songs, just to write and express what God was doing in my life at that moment in time.  I couldn’t put my pen down. Lyrics just flowed. Pages and pages. Some were free-association and random, some were metered and structured. I would often wake up in the middle of the night with complete choruses or melodic lines in my head. I kept a voice recorder near my bed so I could document even the most unimpressive idea.

Several months into this journaling process, I decided to take 10-11 of my favorite writings and put together an album. I had been reminded that God was with us in our pain, though He may not take it away. I had a collection of lyrics that all spoke to this point from different perspectives. In a sense it was a concept record. I didn’t just sit down and say, “I need to make an album.”  It developed out of my journey to align my life to that of Christ’s. I wasn’t songwriting…I was maturing.

“This Valley” wasn’t necessarily a corporate worship album in its design. It was an expression of what God was doing in my life…a natural response.  During the writing process I decided that I didn’t just want to let people observe the journey I had been on, I wanted them to be a part of it. We all have hurt. We have all felt abandoned. God’s reminder of his unbending faithfulness wasn’t meant to stop with me. I decided to make roughly half the album corporate worship songs (songs that could be sung in our church) while the rest were personal songs of worship that weren’t written with the Sunday gathering in mind.

Every song on This Valley came out of a mostly complete set of lyrics before I even grabbed my guitar.  Many of the songs are syllabically even (ex: each line in verse 1 has the same amount of syllables as each line in verse 2). This makes it easier for the singer to apply the same melody to several sets of lyrics.  Most lyrics and rhyme schemes developed naturally, though I did use a rhyming dictionary and thesaurus in spots that I either had something very specific to say or needed a word to fit into a specific rhythmic pattern.

As We Go is an example of a corporate song. I had about 80% of the lyrics finished when I wrote the melody, then finished the other 20% once I had the basic melody and structure completed. I wrote it specifically for my local church community to sing.

Open Sea is a song containing a series of stanzas, without choruses or bridges. Essentially, it was written as more of an audible poem then a song for people to sing. It also utilized 5/4 and 7/4 meter to achieve a tossed about, unsettling cadence.

Emmanuel is an example of a song that started from a specific feel and Duran Duran style guitar riff I had in mind. I then thumbed through my lyrics and found a set that fit. I actually left out about 8 verses I had written and kept the ones that I felt were the most effective.

In the end I had to put all my lyrics into a crucible. I eliminated excess lines, rearranged, and sometimes rephrased. This process was new to me because every song had a message and a set of lyrics before I started adding the music. I structured the accompaniment to support the melody and not the other way around.  I think it worked because I had a very specific message to communicate.

There is no right or wrong way to write a song, but every way takes diligent practice. You must also have that spark of inspiration to shape into a fire.  I believe inspiration comes in seasons. Sometimes you may have to wait for it, other times you may need to search for it, but I don’t think you can successfully force it. I had an incredibly vibrant burst of inspiration during those months, and I continue to practice and reform my songwriting so I am ready when the next idea hits.